Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rabat and Bucharest

For one person, living is cheaper in Bucharest: $1,340 a month against $1,928 in Rabat, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in Rabat
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Rabat Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Bucharest
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Bucharest Living Index

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Rabat

🇲🇹 Malta

$1,928

/mo nomad

Bucharest

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,340

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rabat and in Bucharest

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Rabat and in Bucharest actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,928 in Rabat versus $1,340 in Bucharest.

Rabat $1,928
Bucharest $1,340

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,701 in Rabat versus $2,037 in Bucharest.

Rabat $2,701
Bucharest $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,474 in Rabat versus $2,734 in Bucharest.

Rabat $3,474
Bucharest $2,734

Living in Rabat is roughly 44% more expensive than in Bucharest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rabat is 43% above, Bucharest is 1% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.55 €14.72

$14.49 RON 68.6

14.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.4 €44.82

$58.1 RON 275

-13.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.19 €9.96

$7.48 RON 35.40

49.60%

Cappuccino

$2.25 €2.00

$3.44 RON 16.29

-34.59%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 €2.20

$2.37 RON 11.22

4.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 €1.51

$2.30 RON 10.88

-26.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.33 €2.97

$3.70 RON 17.51

-10.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.43 €3.05

$4.16 RON 19.69

-17.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.11 €0.99

$1.67 RON 7.90

-33.53%

White Bread (500g)

$1.34 €1.19

$1.37 RON 6.50

-2.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$1.72 RON 8.14

31.40%

Eggs

$3.50 €3.11

$3.64 RON 17.22

-3.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.97 €7.09

$9.08 RON 42.98

-12.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.87 €7.00

$6.84 RON 32.35

15.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.51 €11.13

$12.00 RON 56.8

4.25%

Apples (1kg)

$4.12 €3.67

$1.23 RON 5.80

234.96%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$1.63 RON 7.73

33.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.55 €3.16

$1.57 RON 7.45

126.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 €1.97

$2.54 RON 12.01

-12.99%

Potato (1kg)

$1.15 €1.02

$0.79 RON 3.75

45.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.14 €1.01

$0.77 RON 3.66

48.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.87 RON 4.13

25.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 €0.97

$0.99 RON 4.70

10.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.80 €6.05

$6.31 RON 29.86

7.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.23 €7.32

$6.20 RON 29.34

32.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 €1.57

$1.19 RON 5.63

47.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.44 €2.17

$1.57 RON 7.45

55.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.71 €2.41

$0.86 RON 4.08

215.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.10 RON 99.8

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.73 €5.09

$0.64 RON 3.05

795.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.21 €1.96

$0.60 RON 2.86

268.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.77 €23.81

$6.43 RON 30.43

316.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 €1.34

$1.96 RON 9.25

-22.96%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$37.7K €33.6K

$29.0K RON 137.2K

30.18%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$38.6K €34.3K

$26.6K RON 126.0K

44.96%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$101 €90.2

$196 RON 927

-48.24%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$12.17 €10.82

$8.04 RON 38.04

51.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.85 €38.12

$9.35 RON 44.21

358.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.1 €55.3

$50.2 RON 238

23.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.18 €19.73

$25.33 RON 120

-12.44%

Cinema Ticket

$10.09 €8.98

$8.15 RON 38.55

23.80%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$369 €328

$628 RON 2,971

-41.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K €10.0K

$14.1K RON 66.6K

-19.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.2 €76.7

$89.6 RON 424

-3.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.60 €24.55

$38.32 RON 181

-27.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.7 €65.6

$79.3 RON 375

-7.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$76.8 €68.3

$90.4 RON 428

-15.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 €934

$678 RON 3,209

54.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,049 €933

$448 RON 2,121

133.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,735 €1,543

$1,083 RON 5,125

60.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,460 €1,299

$725 RON 3,430

101.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,396 €3,910

$3,751 RON 17.7K

17.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,149 €2,801

$2,195 RON 10.4K

43.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,318 €1,173

$1,329 RON 6,290

-0.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.9

6.75

-57.04%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Rabat: October 10, 2026

Last update for Bucharest: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Rabat

$1K 54.4%

Bucharest

$448 33.5% 57.3% $601

Groceries & Markets

Rabat

$261 13.5%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 13.7% $36

Eating Out

Rabat

$233 12.1%

Bucharest

$225 16.8% 3.4% $8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rabat

$156 8.1%

Bucharest

$213 15.9% 36.3% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Rabat

$119 6.2%

Bucharest

$134 10% 12.6% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Rabat

$82 4.3%

Bucharest

$67 5% 19.2% $16

Getting Around

Rabat

$28 * 1.4%

Bucharest

$28 2.1% 2.2% $0.6

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,051 in Rabat and $678 in Bucharest. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bucharest pays 1% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $50.0 in Rabat vs $58.0 in Bucharest. Groceries flip the comparison at $261 vs $225, with Bucharest cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇹 Rabat

🇷🇴 Bucharest

🕒 Local time

16:24 4:24 PM

17:24 5:24 PM

1 h ahead of Rabat

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,497

1,883,425 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Rabat Bucharest 1,370 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Rabat
Bucharest

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Rabat vs Bucharest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rabat and Bucharest differ by about 44% in total monthly costs ($1,928 vs $1,340 including rent). Bucharest is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 1% lower in Bucharest. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,051 in Rabat versus $678 in Bucharest. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 16% higher in Rabat. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,928 per month in Rabat versus $1,340 in Bucharest – a 44% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,340 in Bucharest versus $1,928 in Rabat, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bucharest but tight or insufficient in Rabat. The gap between the two cities makes Bucharest the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Rabat and Bucharest are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Bucharest gentler on the wallet – expenses run 44% less than in Rabat. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.